Ideological Commentary |

George Walford: Essentially Contested Concepts

May 14, 2013

The adherents of each major ideology tend to see people holding different basic assumptions as not merely mistaken but wrong, both intellectually and morally. A perception of this has led W. B. Gallie to speak of “essentially contested concepts.” [1] These occur, he says, in aesthetics, political and social philosophy and the philosophy of religion,… read more »

George Walford: Freedom (44)

May 21, 2013

Freedom for South Africa to take a full part in international sport is being sought by Freedom in Sport International, run by Tory MP John Carlisle. In a free-market society, would traders be free to form combinations in restraint of trade? In the free society, would we be free to drive while drunk? “Man [was]… read more »

George Walford: Thinking About Knowledge

May 14, 2013

Ideologists (a term used in IC to mean students of ideology) have to be interested in enquiries into the sources from which knowledge is derived, and in his essay entitled “Logic, Mathematics and Knowledge of Nature,” [1] Hans Hahn distinguishes two possible ones: observation and thinking. Comments are to be made, but first some of… read more »

George Walford: Not Finished Yet

May 12, 2013

Recent events in Eastern Europe have led some Western commentators to suggest that revolutionary communism is now on its last legs, the West German Embassy, for example, speaking of Marx and Marxism both being nicely buried. [1] The communists do not agree. Dr. Chater, editor of the Morning Star, still regards the coming of communism… read more »

George Walford: Chickenhouses?

May 12, 2013

Eggwina – beg pardon, Edwina – Currie calls Shelter an organisation which “just moans and shelters nobody” (Sunday Times 19 Nov 89). She does not go far enough; Shelter deprived many people of the homes they might have enjoyed without its activities. It was largely responsible for a change in the Rent Acts during one… read more »

George Walford: NIAT (44)

May 12, 2013

A recent book by John Rowan describes the late Harold Walsby, creator of systematic ideology, as a Hegelian. The title is not one to be ashamed of and Rowan doubtless intended no derogation, but by presenting Walsby as a mere follower of Hegel it does suggest an unduly low estimate of his achievement. More may… read more »

George Walford: Persistence

May 11, 2013

The greens tell us that the peoples living in close contact with nature act with restraint, treat their environment caringly and take no more than they need. The anthropologists present a different picture; as their knowledge of the early people has grown they have increasingly come to see them as careless destroyers; not deliberate vandals,… read more »

George Walford: Domination (44)

May 11, 2013

The ideological mode of domination-submission appears in various connections, some of them less easy to recognise than others; the power wielded by the universities, for example, comes mainly from this source although it is easily (and often) mistaken for a consequence of superior rationality. In a letter to the Editor of the TLS Nicolas Walter… read more »

George Walford: Revolution

May 6, 2013

Richard Pipes helps to dispel the fog of misunderstanding and misrepresentation that makes revolution look like nothing more than spontaneous mass upheaval. [1] He notes that the French revolution, first of the modern ones, did not use the word until fifteen months after the fall of the Bastille, but the Russian revolutionaries “travelled with Baedekers,”… read more »

George Walford: Naughty Children

May 6, 2013

Since 1979 spending on criminal justice has leapt from £2 to £5 billion; an increase of 50 per cent in real terms. The number of police has increased by 13 per cent and of prison staff by 50 per cent; 49,000 prisoners are now managed by 33,000 warders. 28 new prisons are being prepared, with… read more »